Lapid Rebuts Likud’s Denial of Pre-October 7 Warnings

Opposition leader Yair Lapid challenged Likud’s assertion that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received no advance warning of the Hamas attack, in a statement on the attack’s third anniversary. Lapid said his September 20, 2023 press conference warning of a security disaster was based on intelligence material also available to Netanyahu. He also questioned Netanyahu’s opposition to a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 failure. Likud’s earlier statement, published on Netanyahu’s official channel, said he received no advance warning of an attack from Gaza and maintained that security leaders repeatedly assessed Hamas as deterred.